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Hibiscus coccineus

SCARLET ROSEMALLOW

SCARLET HIBISCUS

Florida native

An occasional shrub-like plant of swamps and other wet areas found mostly in the central and northeast peninsula and also some counties of south Florida and the panhandle. Scarlet rosemallow ranges throughout the southeastern coastal states from Virginia to Louisiana plus Arkansas.
The large distinctive flowers are up to 20 cm across and have five bright red petals. Hibiscus coccineus has a green five-lobed calyx and linear, entire and unforked bracts. Scarlet hibiscus blooms in summer, mostly in July and early August.
The leaves are palmately divided into 3 or 5 lobes on long stalks. The leaves look very similar to Cannabis sativa - marijuana - although the Hibiscus leaves are typically less toothed.